My new roots
Mary moved to Birmingham for her job and has found volunteering with The Wildlife Trust the perfect way to meet new people and put down roots in a new place.
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Chwilio
My dirty weekend
What’s a little bit of mud between friends? Gary, Nathan, Tony and Adrian love getting stuck into volunteering – and it gives them an excuse to get a little bit mucky.
My turning point
Volunteering on a nature reserve turned Adam’s life around after a difficult time in life. As Assistant Reserve Officer, wildlife is both his stress relief and his career.
Craig Cilhendre Woods, Pontardawe, Swansea
Craig Cilhendre is upland Oak woodland, part of which is ancient in origin, with some patches of wet woodland, situated on a steep north-facing hillside.
Common centaury
A low-growing plant of sand dunes, heaths and grassy places, Common centaury is in bloom over summer. Look for clusters of pretty, pink, five-petalled flowers.
Black-throated diver
The streamlined black-throated diver is a superb swimmer and diver, but not so graceful on land! During the summer, the distinctive black patch on its throat appears, heralding the breeding season…
Sea-holly
The spiky, silvery leaves of Sea-holly give this plants its common name. Look for its beautiful, thistle-like, blue blooms on coastlines and sand dunes in summer.
Arctic tern
The Arctic tern is famed for its aggression towards any that would disturb its nest - it will dive-bomb intruders with its sharp beak. Large, noisy colonies can be found on the Farne Islands and…
Kidney vetch
The small, yellow flowers and woolly appearance of kidney vetch make this plant easy to spot. Look for it growing low to the ground on sand dunes, chalk grasslands and cliffs in summer.
Timothy
Timothy is a grass of meadows, arable land, waste ground and roadside verges. It is also cultivated as fodder for livestock. Look for slender stems and long, cylindrical flower spikes in summer.…
Dunlin
Found along the coast all year-round, the dunlin is a small sandpiper that breeds and winters in the UK. It can be seen in its upland breeding grounds in summer, when it turns brick-red above and…
Large skipper
As its name suggests, the large skipper is bigger than the similar-looking small skipper! It can be seen in summer, resting on the long grass of grasslands, woodlands, verges and sand dunes.